Lots more people have started reading the Book of Mormon than have finished it. I suspect that the first stories in the Book of Mormon were specially chosen because they would be read thousands of times more often than the final stories. And which stories were given prominence? In the 4th chapter, Nephi was asked to slay the unconscious Laban in the streets. It’s interesting that only a few pages into the book a man was commanded to break one of the Ten Commandments.
There’s a similar conflict in the story of Abraham’s sacrifice. Kierkegaard wrote about the angst he imagined for Abraham in Fear and Trembling. Abraham was willing to obey, even though he was potentially disqualifying himself from heaven. Kierkegaard asked how Abraham could know that he was interpreting God’s words correctly, especially with the stakes so high. He had to have enough faith in his new vision to disobey God’s laws that had been established by great prophets in other generations. Continue reading